Sensex, Nifty remain higher in late morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks remained higher in late morning session, with both Sensex and Nifty trading in green terrain. Positive cues from other Asian markets helped key indices to remain higher. Traders were positive, amid reports that India is likely to benefit from the global minimum 15 percent corporate tax rate pact inked by the world's richest nations as the effective domestic tax rate is above the threshold, and the country would continue to attract investment. Domestic sentiments also remained optimistic, as foreign investors have infused close to Rs 8,000 crore into Indian equities in the first four trading sessions of June as risk-on sentiment improved amid rapidly falling new Covid cases and robust corporate earnings.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, after China's exports continued to grow albeit at a slower than expected pace in May and imports logged a sharp expansion largely due to higher commodity prices and low base of comparison. According to the General Administration of Customs, China's exports advanced 27.9 year-on-year in May, but slower than the forecast of 32.1 percent. At the same time, imports surged 51.1 percent annually, slightly slower than the expected increase of 51.5 percent.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 52204.36, up by 104.31 points or 0.20% after trading in a range of 52054.76 and 52279.55. There were 20 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.98%, while Small cap index was up by 1.29%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 2.74%, Power up by 2.20%, Telecom up by 1.85%, Industrials up by 1.55% and PSU up by 1.43%, while there were no losing sectoral indices on the BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Ultratech Cement up by 3.11%, NTPC up by 2.68%, Power Grid up by 2.54%, ITC up by 1.41% and Larsen & Toubro up by 1.33%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 4.48%, Bajaj Finserv down by 3.28%, HDFC down by 1.06%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab down by 0.40% and Asian Paints down by 0.32% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, continuing their trend for the eighth straight month, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections remained above Rs 1 lakh crore mark for the month in May, indicating that the impact of the devastating second wave of Covid infections on the economy may have been limited. Tax collections on sale of goods and rendering of services in May at Rs 1.02 lakh crore were 27 per cent lower than April 2021, but 65 per cent higher than May 2020 when the nation was under complete lockdown, impacting economic activity.

The finance ministry said the gross GST revenue collected in the month of May 2021 is Rs 1,02,709 crore of which CGST is Rs 17,592 crore, SGST is Rs 22,653, IGST is Rs 53,199 crore (including Rs 26,002 crore collected on import of goods) and Cess is Rs 9,265 crore (including Rs 868 crore collected on import of goods). The above figure includes GST collection from domestic transactions till June 4 since taxpayers were given various relief measures in the form of waiver/reduction in interest on delayed return filing for 15 days for filing of returns in May on account of second wave of the Covid pandemic.

During May 2021, revenues from import of goods were 56 per cent higher, and the revenues from domestic transactions (including import of services) are 69 per cent higher than that of May 2020. The ministry said the collection figure crossed Rs 1 lakh crore despite the fact that most of the states have been under strict lockdown due to the pandemic. In addition, while the taxpayers with turnover above Rs 5 crore had to file their returns by June 4, which they would have otherwise filed by May 20, smaller taxpayers with turnover less than Rs 5 crore still have time till first week of July to file the returns without any late fee and interest, and the revenue from these taxpayers is deferred till then. The ministry noted ‘The actual revenues for the month of May 2021 thus would be higher and would be known when all the extended dates expire’.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 15727.05, up by 56.80 points or 0.36% after trading in a range of 15678.10 and 15739.40. There were 39 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Adani Ports & SEZ up by 6.90%, Tata Motors up by 3.88%, Ultratech Cement up by 3.23%, NTPC up by 2.77% and Shree Cement up by 2.70%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 4.43%, Bajaj Finserv down by 3.25%, HDFC down by 1.07%, HDFC Life Insurance down by 0.65% and Cipla down by 0.53% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 102.08 points or 0.35% to 29,043.60, Straits Times advanced 27.17 points or 0.86% to 3,178.21, KOSPI rose 16.11 points or 0.5% to 3,256.19 and Jakarta Composite soared 1.24 points or 0.02% to 6,066.41. On the flip side, Shanghai Composite declined 7.66 points or 0.21% to 3,584.18, Taiwan Weighted dropped 13.45 points or 0.08% to 17,133.96 and Hang Seng decreased 222.92 points or 0.77% to 28,695.18.